Invisible-track highway



Junevze, 1928, 1,674,787

S. B. MOORE INVISIBLE TRACK HIGHWAY Filed Jan. 14, 1924 lil rented .luneZ6, 1928.

STUART B. MOORE, OF PINEVILLE, KENTUCKY. Y

INVISIBLE-TRACK 'HIGrI-IXVAY.

Application filed January 14, 1924. Serial No. 686,210.

rlhis invention relates to invisible track roadways in which reinforcedtrack ways are associated with and form a part of the roadway. i

In constructing the roadway in accordance with this invention it isproposed to pour the roadl preferably solid and to provide thereintrack'ways reinforced to insure a continuity of surface irrespective ofvarying climatic conditions, these track ways being separated by thinareas relatively weakened thus offering the possibility of producing aslab that will be suiiiciently HeXible to compensate for the heaving orsettling of the road bed.

The manner-of constructing my improved 'roadway as well as the novelfeatures of the same will be made more apparent as this descriptionproceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a section of roadway showingsuccessively the various stages of construction, and

Fig. 2 isv a transverse sectional view of the completed roadway.

Referring now particularly to the drawings wherein like referencecharacters indicate like parts, it will be noted that the earth surfaceas shown in Fig. 2 is graded to form a road bed 10, the width of whichis defined by the sides 11 thereof, the surface of the road bed beinggraded so as to provide longitudinally arranged ridges or mounds 12alternating with longitudinally arranged depressions 13.

The road proper is formed by pouring upon the road bed a slab ofconcrete 14, there having been previously arranged in spaced parallelrelation a plurality of sets of reinforcing bars 15, the several sets ofwhich are each tied together by a .plurality of suitably spaced wrappers16. lllhese reinforcing bars are disposed longitudinally of the roadwayas clearly illustrated, and parallel with and adjacent to the thickenedportions of the road way which constitute the track ways 17, it beingunderstood that the roadway illustrated herein is a double trackhighway.

In pouring the concrete slab 14E forming the roadway provision is madefor grooving the saine at a plurality of longitudinal points asillustrated at 18, these longitudinal grooves constituting weakeninggrooves. particularly in view of the fact that they are disposed alongthe thinner portions of the slab 14 or in other words, in the portion ofthe slab 14 which is poured upon the mounds or ridges 12 of the roadbed.

'ihere is thus provided a poured solid roadway embodying reinforcedinvisible track ways, the entire solid slab however, being suflicientlyflexible by reason of the longitndinally arranged relatively weakenedportions toconipensate for the heaving of the roadway and road bed inthe cold weather and the settling of the roadway and the road bed inwarm weather. In other words, the swelling of the road bed will breakthe slab 14 at the pre-determined points of weakness and the continuityof the surface of the track ways will be preserved.

it has been found desirable, although not necessary, to surface theroadway with a coating of rock, asphalt or bitumen v19 it beingpreferable when this coating is einployed to recess the surface of theslab 14 thus providing sidings 20 for confining the surfacing materialto the roadway.

It has also been found desirable, although not necessary, to providealong the longitudinal center of the roadway a traffic dividing monument21 which may either be continuous or arranged at intervals and isemployed for dividing traffic and forcing the same over the two trackways. Obviously this traffic dividing arrangement may also be producedby making deformations in the roadway or by marking the roadway.

From the foregoing it will be immediately apparent that a roadway isprovided in which the reinforced track ways thereof are protected fromrupture by providing predetermined lines of weakness upon which therigid slab forming the roadway will break, thus eliminating thepossibility of cracking lthe roadway in jagged lines across the same asnow occurs. It is of course apparent that other means could be provided,such for instance, as the insertion of a line of bricks, for weakeningthe slab so as to force the cracking along the predetermined linesconstituted by the bricks, but l regard the grooves as the mostpractical.

While an embodiment of my invention has been described herein in somedetail, reservation is made to make such changes in the same as may comewithin the purview of the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. In a roadway, apoured .slab of hard material such as cement provided with track waysarranged uponl a roadbed graded to forni thin area-s in said slab, saidslab being provided with a weakening device adjacentv said thin areasforming pre-determined lines of weakness.

2. In a roadway, a poured slab of hard materialI such as cement arrangedon a roadbed graded to provide thin areas in said slab, reinforced trackways formed in said slab, said slab'beingformed with pre-determinedlines of' weakness arranged betweenl a poured solid slab of hardmaterial such as' cement, invisible reinforced track ways formed in saidslab during pouring, the road bed being graded to produce relativelythin areas inl said slab between said track ways, said thin areas beingyprovided with a weakening device producing pre-determined lines ofweakness.

5. An invisible track roadway comprising a poured solid slab of hardmaterial such as cement, invisible reinforced track ways formed in saidslab during pouring, the road bed being graded to produce relativelythin areas in said slab between said track ways, said thin areas beingprovided withav wea-kening device producing pre-determined linesotweakness and a surface ofbitumen on said slab. The followingspecification signed at Frankfort, Ky., this 28th day "ofNovember,.1923. i v Y f i' STUARTl B. MOORE.

